SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — When parents at Mary Deterding Elementary school got word about a voluntary Pride Club for fifth and sixth graders at lunch, some raised alarms around LGBTQ conversations among children.
"I just feel like they should have informed us in some format," said Dolores Cortez, who spoke out at Tuesday's San Juan Unified School District (SJUSD) Board meeting.
"We want to know what are they telling our students," said Kris Schwartz, who also spoke out. Both are parents of fifth graders at Deterding Elementary.
In a statement, a spokesperson for SJUSD told ABC10 the Pride Club is designed to provide a safe and supportive space for students who identify as LGBTQ+ or allies, and that the optional club is run by a counselor and meets during recess.
An email between Deterding Elementary Principal and a parent shows the school's reasoning that parents do not need to give consent because it's optional and at lunch.
"If a young person is having these feelings or thinking about these issues, there should be a safe place for them," said David Heitstuman, CEO of the Sacramento LGBTQ Community Center.
Heitstuman pointed to a recent Trevor Project study that shows less than a third of trans or nonbinary students feel it's safe or affirming at home, so schools may not be obligated to disclose such activities to parents.
Still, parents like Cortez say they felt left in the dark.
"That it’s being very deceiving and not transparent with the parents, and we’re not able to have that conversation with our children," said Cortez. "And like my friend brought it up, if you don’t have a good relationship with your child, you wouldn’t even know that these clubs existed."
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